Anchor Your Ship!

एतत्तुल्यं यदि मन्यसे वरं वृणीष्व वित्तं चिरजीविकां च ।

महाभूमौ नचिकेतस्त्वमेधि कामानां त्वा कामभाजं करोमि ॥ २४ ॥

etattulyaṃ yadi manyase varaṃ vṛṇīṣva vittaṃ cirajīvikāṃ ca |

mahābhūmau naciketastvamedhi kāmānāṃ tvā kāmabhājaṃ karomi || 24 ||

Ramakrishna says very beautifully: “If a young princess is offered to you with the whole kingdom as a dowry, even then you don’t even want to look at the face of the princess and consider even the size of the kingdom, you can be given sannyas.” Not before that.

When the sannyas is about to be given, if suddenly a young princess with the whole kingdom as a dowry is given to you and not that you will look at her face and the size of the kingdom and then say ‘yes’ or ‘no’. If you don’t even look up to look at her face or look at the size of the kingdom and say ‘NO’ then you can be given sannyas. That is what exactly here Yama is offering.

And one more thing, when you complete the completion and travel towards enlightenment, the capability of pleasure will drastically increase in your mind. There’s a possibility you can just be stuck with the pleasures. This is the danger. This is the danger.

एतत्तुल्यं यदि मन्यसे वरं वृणीष्व वित्तं चिरजीविकां च ।

महाभूमौ नचिकेतस्त्वमेधि कामानां त्वा कामभाजं करोमि ॥ २४ ॥

etattulyaṃ yadi manyase varaṃ vṛṇīṣva vittaṃ cirajīvikāṃ ca |

mahābhūmau naciketastvamedhi kāmānāṃ tvā kāmabhājaṃ karomi || 24 ||

एतत्तुल्यं यदि मन्यसे वरं वृणीष्व वित्तं चिरजीविकां च ।

महाभूमौ नचिकेतस्त्वमेधि कामानां त्वा कामभाजं करोमि ॥ २४ ॥

etattulyaṃ yadi manyase varaṃ vṛṇīṣva vittaṃ cirajīvikāṃ ca |

mahābhūmau naciketastvamedhi kāmānāṃ tvā kāmabhājaṃ karomi || 24 ||

I just wanted to chant this verse again and again. Because it shows, it is almost like a silly joke Yama makes. Let’s see what the next verse says.

ये ये कामा दुर्लभा मर्त्यलोके सर्वान्कामाँश्छन्दतः प्रार्थयस्व ।

इमा रामाः सरथाः सतूर्या नहीदृशा लम्भनीया मनुष्यैः ।

आभिर्मत्प्रत्ताभिः परिचारयस्व नचिकेतो मरणं मानुप्राक्शीः ॥ २५ ॥

ye ye kāmā durlabhā martyaloke sarvānkāmām̐śchandataḥ prārthayasva |

imā rāmāḥ sarathāḥ satūryā nahīdṛśā lambhanīyā manuṣyaiḥ |

ābhirmatprattābhiḥ paricārayasva naciketo maraṇaṃ mānuprākśīḥ || 25 ||

‘Whatsoever objects of desire are difficult to obtain in the realm of mortals, ask them all, as thou desirous. Though lovely maidens with their chariots and musical instruments, such are not obtained by mortals, be served by these whom I give to you. Oh Nachiketas, do not ask regarding death.’

It means, “I’ll give you bigger ship, bigger ship, bigger ship and you ask best things of world in that; you have a beautiful theatre in that ship, beautiful swimming pool in that ship, sauna, steam, and whatever you want. I’ll give you a helipad. But you can’t go out. I’ll build a separate palace for you inside the ship. I’ll give you chariots, inside the ship you can drive around. I’ll give you all musical instruments, inside the ship you can be playing. But don’t ask me to anchor the ship.

Whatsoever objects of desire are difficult to obtain in the realm of mars...mortals, ask them all, as thou dearest, desirest. Those lovely maidens with their chariots and musical instruments, such are, such as are not obtained by mortals, be served by these whom I give to you. Oh Nachiketha, do not ask regarding death.

How many of you will accept all the special things inside the ship, instead of anchoring the ship? No you may sha..shake the head now but you’re doing it in your life. If you’re postponing aligning yourself to authenticity, you’re doing this. You say: “I’ll just enjoy this and tomorrow I’ll anchor. Today, bonda, tomorrow anchor.” Just today I’ll miss yoga and Pada Puja and do that tomorrow...”

“It’s okay” is moving your ship along with the flow. When you say, “it is not okay,” that is the anchor. If you’re saying it’s okay, the ship is moving in the current. See, whether your life is running with “it’s okay” or “it is not okay.”

“It’s okay,” is the most dangerous pattern can make even God into human being. “It is not okay,” will make even man into God. Oh humanity, understand, don’t put anchoring as the second priority than the pleasures available inside the ship. All pleasures are inside the ship which is floating in the current of death-fear, which is going to fall as a falls of death.

It’s like you’re floating in the Kaveri in high speed, it is going to fall in, in Hogenakkal as a falls and you’re too busy enjoying the things which are in the boat. Did not bother to anchor or get into one bank and save yourself. Knowledge of death is anchoring, enlightenment is getting down into the bank.

Nachiketha has been told by Yama, “Do not ask regarding death, anything else is okay. Do not ask regarding death, anything else is okay.”

ये ये कामा दुर्लभा मर्त्यलोके सर्वान्कामाँश्छन्दतः प्रार्थयस्व ।

इमा रामाः सरथाः सतूर्या नहीदृशा लम्भनीया मनुष्यैः ।

आभिर्मत्प्रत्ताभिः परिचारयस्व नचिकेतो मरणं मानुप्राक्शीः ॥ २५ ॥

ye ye kāmā durlabhā martyaloke sarvānkāmām̐śchandataḥ prārthayasva |

imā rāmāḥ sarathāḥ satūryā nahīdṛśā lambhanīyā manuṣyaiḥ |

ābhirmatprattābhiḥ paricārayasva naciketo maraṇaṃ mānuprākśīḥ || 25 ||

Every time your inauthenticity comes up, don’t be a past record of “it’s okay”. Instead be a possibility of “it is not okay”. Then you become more and more authentic. Authenticity stabilizes your being. Authenticity is the only thing which can cross and not disturb your being towards enlightenment.

ये ये कामा दुर्लभा मर्त्यलोके सर्वान्कामाँश्छन्दतः प्रार्थयस्व ।

इमा रामाः सरथाः सतूर्या नहीदृशा लम्भनीया मनुष्यैः ।

आभिर्मत्प्रत्ताभिः परिचारयस्व नचिकेतो मरणं मानुप्राक्शीः ॥ २५ ॥

ye ye kāmā durlabhā martyaloke sarvānkāmām̐śchandataḥ prārthayasva |

imā rāmāḥ sarathāḥ satūryā nahīdṛśā lambhanīyā manuṣyaiḥ |

ābhirmatprattābhiḥ paricārayasva naciketo maraṇaṃ mānuprākśīḥ || 25 ||

How he’s describing visually, you see, “lovely maidens with the chariots and musical instruments, such as are not obtainable by mortals, be served by these whom I give it to you”. Means what? “All over your ship, I’ll make it into gold and pal, pearls, amazing servants, great bed - lie down, then I’ll push you into the falls. 😃 Take bath, swimming in the, swim in the swimming pool, we’ll apply the sandal paste and all the scent-perfume on you. Eat pizza, lie down, have a beautiful blanket, have the maiden served. Then we’ll push the ship into 😃 the falls. Don’t you understand, you will have a golden toilet in the ship. But don’t ask about how to anchor”.

“It’s okay,” is flowing with the current. “It is not okay,” is anchoring to protect yourself. So the today Mahavakya you need to learn is, “it is not okay!” Gurukul kids, repeat. “It is not okay!” Not words, you have to learn body language also. It is not okay! Let this become your biomemory, from today's Satsang. Okay?

Gurukul kids: “okay.”

What Upanishad continues, we’ll continue in next satsangs.